Ivy thought being forced to marry a genocidal dictator as a teenager was the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to her… however, she was wrong. Years later, with the whole country calling for her head, she faces life imprisonment or even execution after her husband is assassinated and all evidence left behind points to her. Handsome, young and charismatic, detective Rylan Leven is the only person willing to come to her aid. Although he has been tasked with the job of bringing her to justice, his confidence in her virtue is the foundation of the love story that unfolds between them. Their journey to restore the freedom that was stolen from Ivy is one fraught with many challenges, but one they know they must embark on. Will Ivy be punished for trying to get herself out of a toxic marriage or will she succeed despite facing innumerable obstacles?
I am a trained journalist who has worked in both radio and TV over the years. However, my love of the written word has usurped my professional leanings.
Currently, I run my own little indie publishing house called Cherimoya Publishing. The company specialises in romance stories, and that's what I write for myself as a novelist and for clients as a ghostwriter.
I'm Nigerian by birth, and come from a family of seven (the only male child out of five kids!). Growing up, my family moved around a lot and I feel like that has given me a lot of insight into how people from different cultures operate. I try to reflect this in my work.
I am an avid reader and enjoy listening to music. I watch way TOO MUCH television; like I need help, but its OK because TV is Bae... and so is bread... but yeah, that is me in a nutshell. Now do me a favour and go buy and read one of my books. Thank you. :)
2.5 stars (: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.. Here goes.. The very first chapter of the book was so good, it made me build expectations for the book xD.. To be honest, this book was so well written, but in my opinion it doesnt work as romance.. I just couldnt feel the love between the 2 characters, and if I cant feel the love, the book doesnt get a high rating from me :( .. Sorry.. I really liked Rylan, Ivy on the other hand not so much, I dont know why xD.. Anyways, I'd say its still a nice read :D..
*I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
DNF at page 235.
This story had potential, really, but the main problem I had while reading it was that everything happened so fast; SO fast, that it was impossible to believe half the things that happened. I didn't believe the romance, mainly because the protagonists lie to each other frequently. I didn't understand the context nor the world-building in which the story takes place. And the story focus so much in the romance, when there's suppose to be a mystery in the plot, that I nearly forget about it. There are a lot of un-explained situations and I didn't understand what was their relation with the story at all.
However, I like the writing style and the concept of this book. And it was a quick read. But I lost interest in it.
I was enthralled with this book from beginning to end. The pace was consistent, and the pages kept turning. The plot had subterfuge, sleuthing, missing information, clues, and unexpected twists - everything necessary to keep me on my toes. I really enjoyed seeing all the loose ends tie themselves up nicely by the end of the book, and how something simple and achingly fulfilling could ultimately come from so much complication.
Ivy and Rylan's characters were deep and well-developed - as they got to know each other, I got to know them better through their actions and their words. I was touched by Ivy's smarts, her genuine goodness, and how she never took herself too seriously or too pretentiously. She was definitely a master of the art of sarcasm, but she was never vicious with it. Words can cut, and sarcasm can simply be cruel if wielded incorrectly. I never felt that with Ivy. She was very in tune with herself while also being unfailingly empathetic. This was a unique combination that came through as Ivy balanced thinking about herself with thinking about other people, in ways that benefited both yet were genuinely motivated.
Rylan was a gem, as well. He had every reason to be jaded based on his early years, but he was very human and very real. He lived his life openly, allowed himself to feel his emotions fully, and was not afraid to simply be who he was -- competent, smart, loyal, moral, loving, and fallible. Chief Franco struck a chord with me - he was a pretty straight shooter and was clearly the reason Rylan had his head squarely on his shoulders. I find myself wanting a happy ending for Chief Franco, too - I got the impression he, like many, had done some things that aren't necessarily praise worthy, but he was solid, dependable, loving (in his own way) and a loyal guy who deserved more than just his work life.
Spitfire was a pleasant surprise. The book grabbed my attention from the first page and I had a hard time putting it down. The plot was different and Ivy was interesting. She was honest, but said many surprising things leading people to doubt her. For example, her explanation to her lawyer about her response to seeing her husband was dead was this: “It was utter pandemonium after his body was found; his guards came and so did the police, the whole palace was in a frenzy. So to get away from all the commotion I went back to my room to continue reading my book…” I appreciated that her reporter friend was loyal and trustworthy. That is rarely how the media is portrayed in fiction. She was one of the best characters in the story. The premise of a queen murdering her husband has been done, but the twists made it seem like a fresh story.
While I liked Ivy, I struggled with Rylan’s bad habits and unethical behavior in several parts of his personal life (it was excused and defended, but I don’t think I could have accepted it as excusable), and found their relationship a bit hard to believe. He seemed very attracted to her physical appearance, but his focus on that was a bit much at times. After spending years in an abusive marriage, I found it hard to believe that Ivy would be so immediately attracted to someone and thinking about how hot he was all the time. I would have expected her to seem a little more damaged and needing a lot more time before she could trust anyone. I also thought how quickly and easily all the dysfunctional relationships were forgiven and things were worked out was a bit unbelievable. Forgiveness, especially when trust has been lost or there have been years of hurt, takes time. There were cute moments in the midst of everything, like the ballet and the bee scenes (although I am still not completely buying that the queen was able to so completely avoid the media for so much of the story).
I did not see the ending coming in a lot of ways, so I appreciate the author keeping me guessing about who really murdered the king. I also liked how it was set up in such a way that you never really doubted Ivy’s story, even though it was a bit incredible. Overall, it was a fun read.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Spitfire" is a book recommended to me by a very good friend of mine, Susan. I'm an avid romance novel collector and a hopeless romantic!! So when she recommended the book I ordered a copy on Amazon and from the minute I opened the first page...it was a page turner. I couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it! First of all Rylan's character really captured me. There was something very lonely about him being born and raised the way he was and all. I loved how he was a protector. Not just to Ivy but to society as well. I love the unfounded trust he had in her even when all evidence seemed to point at her. The growth of love between the two characters(Ivy and Rylan) as the book progressed, kept me glued!! I also really loved Seobhan!!! I love the mystery that unfolded. Spitfire gets a 5 star rating from me because of its fine mixtures of elements of romance, mystery and intrigue!! Thumbs up!
Queen Ivy thought that marrying King Argy at sixteen was a fate worse than death. Little did she know that six years later her life and world would turn upside down. When Ivy is arrested for her husband's death Ivy can be seen smiling. Ivy is finally free from her abusive relationship. Detective Rylan Leven doesn't believe The Queen killed her husband. Rylan knows instantly that she's innocent but how to prove it. With Rylan's encouragement Ivy comes out of her shell to stand on her own feet. Can Rylan stop his feelings? Who really killed The King? Your answers await you in Spitfire.
The characters and story were interesting and unique to say the least. I loved the mix of modern with fantasy. This new to me author was a pleasure to read.
A Queen accused of murdering her abusive husband. A police officer who believes she’s innocent, even though all the incriminating evidence points to her as the guilty party. As their relationship goes from professional to personal things get interesting.
I liked all the challenges these two had to face; the author did not make this relationship easy. Not to mention all those plot twists I did not see coming.
So did the Queen kill her husband? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am grateful to LibraryThing and the Author for providing me with a free copy of this eBook to read and impartially review. When I read the synopsis and the first chapter of the book, I must confess to looking forward to an old fashioned murder mystery detective story in the style of Raymond Chandler, but set in a modern fictional world. How wrong could I be, true there had been a poisoning and our gorgeous femme fatal heroin is the prime suspect, and yes there is an whodunit with various sub plots to solve but ultimately what really followed was a totally engaging love story, which I am not ashamed to admit as a 59 year old bloke I thoroughly enjoyed. The book is well written imaginative and kept my interest throughout. The two main characters which the book mainly focused on went through numerous trials and tribulations, and occasionally I wanted to knock their heads together, but the author brought it all to an enjoyable satisfying conclusion. This is a book I really enjoyed and thoroughly recommend.
Spitfire like its name suggests spits fire in the very first chapter. You are introduced to the protagonist Ivy who has been recently arrested for a high-profile murder. As the suspense and the thrill of the whodunnit crime story take hold, you are also introduced to Detective Rylan, soon to find himself entangled romantically with Ivy. The descriptions of their romantic journey make it clear that it comes from an author who loves "love." The twists and turns (independent of the romance which also has its own twists and turns) serve to keep you hooked.
All in all, a promising debut from an equally promising young author. I'm sure I can't wait to read what he comes up with next!
When I sat down to read this book, I didn’t know what to expect as it was outside my usual type of read. And boy am I glad I ventured out and read this refreshing story. Queen Ivy has been arrested for her husband, King Argy’s murder. And now she is out on bond, bond that just happens to have been paid by Detective Rylan Leven. Rylan believes she is innocent. Now they must prove it. While waiting to stand trial, this couple deals with misunderstandings and evolving feelings as their relationship grows. I was provided a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review.
This novel is truly one of the better books I've read in a while. The author writes in such a way that it is literally impossible to predict what is going to happen until it is actually happening; which I LOVE! The characters were genuine and believable, especially Ivy the protagonist. I have never been accused of assassinating a monarch but I found it incredibly easy to relate to her situation. All in all, this was a great read and I highly HIGHLY recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review is really one of the hardest I've written because I really wanted to like this story and it's characters. But unfortunately I had a hard time getting into this book. The blurb sounded really good and I though I get a kind of fantasy crime story.
The first thing I missed was that we just dive into the happening. Nothing unusual here, but I really like to get to know the setting of the world the story takes place. Other than the name of the fictional country we almost get nothing. While the story continues there is no real world-building.
The second thing I had problem with was that I couldn't relate to the characters at all. I usually felt like an outsider observing. But I did not feel with the characters. I missed the chemistry between Ivy and Rylan. Their love was not really believable to me. Everything happened to fast and they continuously lie to each other.
This leads me to my next point. The whole relationship between Ivy and Rylan feels like it consists only of lying to each other, running, apologizing, making up again, new lies come up etc. In addition to that I expected a story where the detective helps the girl to find out who is behind her husbands murder and that this obviously brings some obstacles in their romance. But IMO the whole story concentrates only on the love story without solving the murder as expected.
The book started really good and promising but it quickly slacks off. However I enjoyed the writing style and I honestly think the story as well as the young author have potential!
I received this book as part of a giveaway and I am glad I received it. The story was not what I expected. I had thought it would be more of a whodunit instead, it was focused on the budding relationship between Queen Ivy and Detective Rylan Leven. Sure, the mystery of who killed King Argy remained and was eventually answered, but this is a mystery romance rather than a straight up mystery where the characters actively search for the killer. Perhaps this was the author's intent in order to keep the reader guessing as to if Queen Ivy was involved in her husband's murder.
The story held my interest, although I didn't feel particularly attached to either character. Detective Rylan is definitely flawed and Queen Ivy wasn't especially likable and is far too quick to forgive. There were some typos in the edition I read as well, which I sent off to the author to adjust in his next edition.
Overall, it was a good read if you understand what the genre is and you are okay with imperfect relationships. The author has demonstrated that he knows how to tell a story and has given readers something a little different from other stories I've seen out there.
So it is not a secret that the self-published world of literature is a landmine with hundreds of thousands of absolute rubbish books. So because of this my expectations for this were so so. I thought the synopsis of the book read interestingly and the cover was stunning, but that as is usually the case the writing would be subpar. Boy, was I wrong… This book does have aspects of it that are synonymous with self-published books; namely that it does not follow industry specifications, but I kind of like that. I think that is what made me like it so much. Because a lot of the books written today are very formulaic it becomes very easy to predict plots. SPITFIRE did not fall into this category at all. You can tell that it is a well-polished stream of consciousness piece from the author. The characters were genuine and the plot complex and easy at the same time. I am very glad that I gave it a chance and would recommend that other people read it as well.
*I am providing this review as a result of receiving a free copy from the author*
NOTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS PREDICTABLE!!! Which is exactly what I look for in a book. I just adore this story. I could have read this book in one sitting (if I had had the time). I’m thinking that I am going to read it again just for fun this time. The character development in this story was spot on; the reader gets to know what makes them tick and empathize with them. The story is also brought to such a satisfying ending. If you do not believe me, read it and find out. *I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I have to say I enjoyed it all the way through. It was quick-paced with a number of unexpected twists. I know I would have finished it way faster if I had the time. I loved the parts where we learnt something interesting about the characters (ballet and bees) and also loved how I could not predict who had killed the King. I did find some of the romantic parts to be extremely cheesy but that did not stop me from loving this book. Looking forward to more from this author :)
I was given this book for free to provide an honest review.
So I would like to start off by saying that I am a very harsh critic of romance novels. This is probably because I love the genre something fierce. Most of the popular romance books out today do nothing for me. I won’t name names but let’s just say that I have rolled my eyes a couple dozen times reading some of the books that have been classified as “genius” :P
So when I read the blurb for this book I was intrigued but my expectations were low, but I am so happy to report that I was so pleasantly surprised! The plot of the story here happens so organically and nothing feels forced or like the author wrote it just for the purpose of scandalizing the reader. The plot moved fast just like I like it; something important was happening every other chapter which kept me on my toes.
The characters… Oh the characters… I fell in love with both lead characters. They were both unconventional and very believable. Their love story is one that is difficult but essentially so incredibly satisfying. This is a promising debut from a new author and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for something good and different to read.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book started with a bang, as the readers are plunged straight into the aftermath of the King's murder. The first chapter was enticing and exciting. It gave a bit of back story about the type of person the King was and the perception of the type of person that Ivy was. Both seemed to be very interesting characters. It was, in my opinion, the best chapter in the whole book. It's from that point on that the story and plot line take a back seat to the romance in the story.
Although the plot line was pushed to the background I enjoyed the concept of it. I like the whodunit prospect of the king's murderer and wished the author had spent more time on the list of possible suspects and the murder investigation itself. I was exultant when I found out who the real murderer was. It was a fantastic twist that I had been hoping for. And it added a bit of excitement to the ending, as the romance between Ivy and Rylan had been doomed to be a happy ending from the beginning.
Overall the book's focus on the relationship between Ivy and Rylan made the majority of it a dull read, but the conflict in between that kept things interesting and kept me reading until the end.